Knob attachment



PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904. P. LA BELLE.

&\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\YL KNOB ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented February 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

PETER LA BELLE, or ANDERSON, INDIANA.-

--KNOB ATTACHMENT- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,623, dated. February 16, 1904.

' Application filed October 16,1902. Serial No. 127,574. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER LA BELLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Anderson, in the county of Madison and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements .in Knob-Attaching Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in knob-attaching devices such as are especially designed for use in attaching doorknobs to knob-spindles; and the object of the invention is to provide a device of this character of a simple and inexpensive nature and of a strong and compact construction adapted for holding the knobs operatively engaged with the spindles without requiring the use of any screws or similar'devices, such as are commonly provided on the knob-shank for this purpose.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the improved knob-attaching device whereby certain im portant advantages are attained and the device is made simpler, cheaper, and is otherwise better adapted and made more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,-which serve to illustrate my improvements, Figure l is a sectional view taken axially through a doorknob and showing the improved means for attaching the same to the knob-spindle. Fig. 2 is a section taken transversely through the knob-attaching means in the plane indicated by line a a in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial view showing certain elements of the knob-attaching means carried by the escutcheon or door plate. Fig. 4 is a partial section somewhat similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified arrangement of the improved knob-attaching device. Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken through the modified form of a knob-attaching device in the plane indicated by the line b b in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing the coupling member employed in the modified arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 7 is a partial view showing members carried by the escutcheon or door plate and employed in the modified form of the device shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 8 is a sectional View similar to Fig.4, but illustrating still another modified arrangement of the knob-attaching device. Fig. 9 is a detached perspective view showing the form of coupling member employed in the construction illustrated in Fig. 8.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, 1 indicates thedoor-knob, and 2 indicates a shank therefor, said shank 2 being herein shown as formed separately from the knob, although it is evident that it may be made integral therewith without departure from my invention. The shank 2 is formed with an axial bore or chamber 3, extended in it and adapted to receive the knob-spindle, said bore or chamber 3 being made rectangular in cross-section to fit the rectangular cross-sectional form of the knob-spindle, so that when said spindle is inserted in the bore or chamber the knob will be securely held to turn with the spindle and cannot turn independently thereof.

The shank 2 of the knob is formed with a reduced and exteriorly-screwthreaded end portion 5, upon which is screwed an internally-threaded sleeve or collar 6 of greater length than said screw-threaded end portion 5 of the knob-shank, so that the extremity of said sleeve or collar 6 is caused to project, as shown at 7, beyond the end of the knob-shank in position to be received and housed for turning movement in a circular chamber 10, produced within a boss 9, projecting from the front surface of an escutcheon or door plate 8, the plate 8 being adapted for attachment inany desired way tothe door in order that it may be held securely against movement thereon.

At the base of the chamber 10 in the ,es-

cutcheon-plate lug or boss 9 is produced an inwardly-extended annular flange 11, upon which the extremity of the extended portion 7 of the sleeve or collar 6 is adapted to bear when inserted in saidchamber, and upon the rear surface of the plate 8 is produced a circular recess or chamber 12 of greater. diameter than the opening produced inside said annu.

lar flange 11, and said recess or chamber 12 is adapted to receive a head or enlargement 14, produced upon the rear end of a coupling member 13, said member 13 beinginsertible from the rear surface of the plate 8 in such 'a way that its reduced forward end shall pass through the central opening inside the flange 11 and shall extend within the chamber 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The reduced forward end portion of the member 13 is externally screw-threaded and is adapted to be screwed within the extended portion 7 of the sleeve or collar 6, and when said member is so inserted from the back o'f'the plate 8 and screwed home in said sleeve or collar its head or enlargement 14 is received in the recess or chamber 12 for turning movement and the'sleeve or collar is drawn into the chamber 10, as shown in Fig. 1. By this construction it will be obvious that the coupling member serves to securely hold the knob in relation to the door-plate 8, but permits said knob to be readily detached when turned to unscrew the sleeve or collar 6 from the coupling member 13.

The coupling member 13 is formed with an interior or axial bore or chamber 15, also made of rectangular cross-section, to receive the knob-spindle 4, which, as-above stated, is usually made of similar rectangular cross-sectional form, and said spindle 4 when member 13 is turned to bring its bore in alinement with the bore 3 of the knob-shank is insertible from the rear surface of the door-plate into both'of said bores or chambers 15 and 3 and serves by reason of its angular cross-sectional form to securely hold the knob-shank and coupling member against turning movement relative one to the other, so that the knob cannot be turned to unscrew its collar or sleeve from the coupling member except after the knob-spindle shall have been withdrawn from said chambers or bores 3 and 15.

From the above description of my improvements it will be seen that the knob-attaching device constructed according to my invention is of an extremely simple and inexpensive nature and is especially well adapted for use in holding the knobs securely attached to doors, while permitting ready removal thereof when desired, and it will also be obvious from the above description that the device is susceptible of some modification without material departure from the principles and spirit of the invention, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several parts of the device herein set forth.

As showing one modified form in which it may at timesbe desirable to embody my improved knob attaching device I have illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 a construction wherein the coupling member (indicated at 16 in these views) is provided with a head or enlargement 17 similar to the enlargement 14 in the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 and which is adapted to turn in the chamber or recess 12 on the rear surface of the escutcheon or door plate 8. The forward end of the coupling member 17 is provided with lugs or projections 18 18, herein shown as three in number, and which are adapted when the parts are assembled to be passed through notches 21 in the flange 11 of the escutcheon or door plate,

as shown in Fig. 7, and to traverse grooves 19 19, produced in the walls of the knob-shank 2. The extremities of the grooves19 have recesses extending laterally at right angles, as shown at 20 in Figs. 4 and 5, so that when the lugs or projections 18 are pushed along the grooves to the forward bent end portions thereof a partial turn may be given to the coupling member 16 to cause saidlugs or projections to be seated in the chambers formed by the bentend portions 20 of the notches or grooves 19. The faces of the lugs 18 may be made inclined, as shown in Fig. 6, to permit the parts to be drawn tightly together when the coupling member is turned relatively to the knob shank. In this construction the knob-shank 2 and member 16 are each formed with bores of rectangular cross-sectional form, and when the knob spindle 4 is inserted in said bores it serves to effectually hold the parts against relative turning movement, so that the knob cannot be detached until .after the spindle shall have been removed.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown still another form of the knob-attaching device, wherein the coupling member 22 has a flanged rear end 25, adapted to be seated in the recess 12 of the door-plate, and also has at its forward end a flange 26, adapted to be seated in an internal annular groove produced in the bore of the knob-shank and surrounding the said bore. In this construction the coupling member is formed in four parts or sections 23 23 and 24 24, the members or sections 23 23 being adapted to be first seated in the interior cavity of the knob-shank and of the door-plate 8 and when inserted being adapted to receive between them the members or sections 24 24, which serve to hold the sections 23 23 in position. The sectional coupling member thus produced is formed with a bore 15 of rectangular crosssectional form adapted to correspond with the similarly-formed bore 3 ofthe knob-shank 2 to receive the knob-spindle, which when inserted securely locks the parts against disengagement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a knob-attaching device, the combination of a knob having a shank, a plate adapted for attachment to a door or the like and formed with an opening, a coupling member passed through the opening in said plate and having an enlargement adapted to engage the rear face of said plate; said coupling member being adapted for rotation relative to the knobshank for attaching it to and detaching it from said knob-shank, and a knob-spindle passed through the coupling member and having means engaged therewith and with the knobshank to hold said parts against independent turning movement relative to each other, substantially as set forth.

2. In aknob attachment, the combination of a knob having its shank formed with a bore of rectangular cross-sectional form, a plate for attachment to a door or the like and provided with an opening, a coupling member also formed with a boreof rectangular cross-sectional form and passed through the opening in said plate and provided with a head upon the rear face thereof, said coupling member being adapted for rotationrelative to the knobshank for attaching it to and detaching it from said knob-shank, and a knob-spindle of rectangular cross-sectional form passed through and arranged to fit in the bores of the knob-shank and of the coupling member, to hold said parts against relative turning movement, substantially as set forth. 7

3. In a knob attachment, the combination of a knob having a shank formed with a bore of rectangular cross-sectional form, a plate for attachment toa door or the like and provided with an opening and with a raised boss surrounding said opening, and with a recess on its rear side concentric with and of greater diameter than said opening, a coupling member also formed with a bore of rectangular crosssectional form and passed through the opening in the plate and having an enlargement held to turn in the recess on the rear side thereof, said coupling member being adapted for rotation relative to the knob-shank for attaching it to and detaching it from said knob-shank, and a knob-spindle of rectangular cross-sectional form passed through and arranged to fit in the bores of the knob-shank and of the coupling member to hold said parts against turning movement, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER LA BELLE.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. MoCLUEE, O. E. MGWILLIAMS. 

